Ahead of the Scottish Government’s announcement on spending plans for 2025/26, the Scottish Socialist Party is reiterating its call for a People’s Budget that delivers real improvements for the working-class majority.
Writing last month in The National, the SSP’s Richie Venton said:
“The SSP is determined to combine with other trade unionists, community activists, student campaigners and others to demand a Scottish People’s Budget on December 4 that begins to genuinely change, rebuild, “create a fairer society for the next generation” – to reference a few of the false claims made for Labour’s Budget.
“Instead of capitulating to real-life austerity, wage cuts and job losses, we need a Scottish Budget that stands up for the people – not the two richest families who own more wealth than 1.1 million Scottish people combined.
“The SSP demands that John Swinney, Shona Robison et al grow a collective spine and expose the sham radicalism of Keir Starmer, Anas Sarwar and the rest of Labour with a battery of genuinely radical, life-improving measures in the Scottish Budget.
“They should reinstate universal Winter Fuel Payments to Scotland’s pensioners (cost: £160m); scrap the two-child benefits cap that deprives 90,000 Scottish kids of food; and compensate the 335,000 Waspi women in Scotland – born in the 1950s, robbed of tens of thousands in their pensions, one dying every 13 minutes still without an apology or compensation – by at least £10,000 each, without delay, and then vociferously demand back the funding from Westminster, which inflicted this atrocity.
“Instead of making do with the paltry £12.21 adult minimum wage, and continued age wage discrimination with a 20% lower rate for younger workers, The Scottish Government should also declare an immediate Scottish minimum wage of £15 an hour for all aged 16 or over.
“Yes, the statutory minimum wage is a reserved Westminster power, but the Scottish Government can implement a “living wage” of £15 in every public sector body – which employs 605,000 workers – plus use contract compliance, whereby no private company will be granted public sector contracts unless they pay that rate.
“The Scottish Budget should declare nationalisation of Grangemouth, without compensation to the shark billionaire owner, Jim Ratcliffe, and immediate investment in an alternative plan of alternative green production, led by workers’ expertise, saving every job.
“It should set out a plan to insulate and retrofit every home free of charge, generating jobs and income tax, by hiring big teams of council workers to systematically go into each district – and start building 100,000 eco-friendly council houses for affordable rent.
“The Scottish Budget should genuinely tax the rich – with far higher rates for the small minority of people on over £100,000 a year, and in particular levy a wealth tax on all resident billionaires and millionaires. Even a modest 5% wealth tax on all millionaires would generate about £22bn for Scotland.
“If the Scottish Government was to do just one thing on December 4 – and there’s no earthly excuse why that’s all they can do to resist Labour austerity – the SSP demands they should abolish the Council Tax and replace it with the SSP’s income-based, progressive Scottish Service Tax. We’ve shown this would mean 75% of people paid less, but taxing the very wealthiest far more would literally double funding for Scotland’s 32 local councils to £5.3bn.
“Alongside reversal of cuts to councils and education, such a battle plan would inspire tens of thousands of workers, communities and young people to take collective action in support of a Scottish People’s Budget – using whatever real-life concessions are granted by Westminster through the Barnet consequentials, but where necessary demanding back more of the £6bn stolentaken from Scottish funding by Westminster since 2020 alone.
“Labour has thrown down the gauntlet. The SSP demands the Scottish Government pick it up with a radical People’s Budget that begins to tax the rich, take wealth into public hands, and give our people a decent future.”